Improved hydrocarbon well drilling technologies enable operators to drill hydrocarbon wells (i) that extend for many thousands of meters within the subterranean formation, (ii) that have vertical depths of hundreds or even thousands of meters, and/or (iii) that have highly deviated wellbores. These improved drilling technologies are routinely utilized to drill long and/or deep hydrocarbon wells that permit production of gaseous hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible subterranean formations. However, efficient removal of wellbore liquids from these hydrocarbon wells may be restricted using traditional artificial lift systems, e.g., pumps.
Pumps may generally be most useful for liquids removal and gas production when they are landed at the deepest total vertical depth (TVD) possible, i.e., when they can lift the maximum hydrostatic head from the reservoir. This may be challenging to accomplish when dealing with some deviated or horizontal wells, with wireline equipment being particularly problematic in some instances. For example, pumps, e.g., micro positive displacement (PD) pumps, may be required to be deployed with off-the-shelf 7/16″ wireline cable capable of transmitting ˜2,500+ Watts of electricity to the alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) motor or solid state device powering the unit. Equipment installations utilizing wireline may be limited to <65° deviation because the flexible wireline “stacks-out” in the well and does not permit further deployment. Therefore, a need exists for an approach that enables the wireline-deployed equipment (e.g., pumps) to be landed at “high” deviation for maximized reservoir drawdown and gas production without experiencing stack-outs.
In some cases, the equipment can be pumped down to a deeper location in the well when this occurs. However, this is not always possible. For example, some wells may have a standing valve in place below the pump, e.g., to maintain a full hydrostatic column in the tubing. A full hydrostatic column in the tubing may prevent downwards flow and prohibit pumping down the equipment to a deeper location in the well. Since micro PD and solid-state pumps are increasingly being developed and/or used for use in field applications, this creates a serious problem for wells utilizing a hydrostatic column technique. Therefore, a need exists for an approach that enables deployment of equipment (e.g., pumps) in wells utilizing a full hydrostatic column technique.